Wednesday, December 24, 2008

I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I also wanted to share this with you:

"I really like Christmas Eve. I think I like it even more than Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, you get to open your presents and see what you got, but you also know that Christmas is starting to be over for a year, and by nighttime some of the stuff you got is already broken. But on Christmas Eve, all the tree lights are on and carols are playing and people are saying 'Merry Christmas,' and everything is about to happen, but it didn't happen yet. That's the best time of the year."

That's from Dave Barry's book The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog, which is a fantastic (and very short) book that literally made me both laugh (out loud!) and cry (real tears!). This perfectly captures how I feel about Christmas and Christmas Eve.

I hope you're all well, and that your day is wonderful and full of love. Or that you get your official Red Ryder carbine-action two-hundred-shot range-model air rifle.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

This morning, the entire Ovian family piled into the Ford Freestyle and made the trek to the Lowell Showcase Cinemas. The purpose? To see Irving Berlin's White Christmas on the big screen, of course. After much bickering and yelling and bad feeling toward all, we entered the theater parking lot to celebrate the season of giving and love.

And what to our wondering eyes should appear, but a family SUV with an "Armenia" sticker on the rear? It was the only other car in the entire lot, as it was just shy of 10 in the morning the day after a terrible snow storm. Of course, we all figured we would know them, since really, we know practically every Armenian family in the New England area, let alone an hour's drive from our house. My mother was off like a shot to see who it was--and lo and behold, it was the Piligians, a family my family has known for YEARS. At least three of them: Uncle Stephan, Auntie Susan and Lauren.

Of course, when old family friends reunite, especially Armenians, it means there will be no peace for anyone in the vicinity. Throughout the movie, my dad made the usual comments he makes when we watch the film ("You see that guy? He was in West Side Story!" and "How do you feel now??"), and in addition we got the bonus comments of Auntie Susan and Uncle Stephan. It was a good time.

Afterward, we decided to go to lunch at the Chili's next door, after Lauren called her brother Andrew to join us. Now, I am not sure how we got onto the subject of gingers, or why Lauren staunchly calls them so, but we ended up explaining to my dad what they are, and I'm pretty sure trying to convince someone that gingers are not the result of incest (*coughLaurencough*). I think I also might have mentioned gingervitis.

Imagine my anticipation of the hilarity and hijinks that would ensue when I saw a redheaded server round the corner in the nearly empty Chili's. Did I mention that we were a large group of very loud Armenians?

I was the only one who saw him at first, so of course the only thing I could do was eagerly wait and see what the others' reactions would be. My mother was the first to notice: she just about spit out her food and her eyes bulged out of her head right before she poked Auntie Susan and pointed. Slowly the information spread. I waited until he was far enough away before I told Nishan what was going on--he actually did spit out some of his food in an effort to keep his laughter from being too loud. That's when I lost it myself. I couldn't help it! It was FUNNY.

Later the guy walked by us reeeeaaaaaalllll slow. I'm pretty sure he was trying to eavesdrop (not that he would have to try real hard since we were being loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear) and see if we were still talking about the gingers. We were not. At least not until he passed us again.

When my dad asked for the check, our waitress had it in her hands, already bringing it to us. I said she probably heard Nishan, who had rudely yelled out "Check!" Andrew suggested they were kicking us out due to our earlier conversation. I really hope that's the case; at least, I will brag in the future that I was kicked out of a Chili's because we exhibited anti-ginger behavior.

My theory: If you don't want your 4-year-old son to swear, it's probably not a good idea to swear in front of him. Especially when you are talking about dogshit. That's not even an expletive; it's just an unnecessarily dirty mouth in front of your young children. Nice job lady.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I've been thinking tonight about my future. I know, I'm so responsible. Mostly I've been thinking about what the heck I'm going to do for a job after graduation. I mean there is always B&N. (And for those of you who work/have worked there, don't dump on me for it--I actually really like working at a bookstore and wouldn't mind working there full time. Not forever unless I became a manager and got paid well, but at least for a time). But I did a little research tonight on job sites and have come to the conclusion that I probably shouldn't look for a job until next semester. Every job looks like it needs to be filled soon, and I obviously can't go back home without completing my degree first. Plus I feel like I don't have the necessary experience to actually do anything professional. I mean, I've had a couple of internships, but I feel like I didn't really do anything that will land me a real job that I'm comfortable doing, or think I can do well. All I know is that I'm pretty good with customer service at B&N; I have a very good knowledge of books, especially children's books; I'm a decent writer; and I'm really good at proofreading. But who needs a proofreader nowadays? No one cares about that stuff anymore.

And then there's the whole grad school dilemma. Will I be able to afford going to a private institution for another couple of years full time? Am I willing to go part time and hope to find a job that will help pay for it but complete my programs in 3 or 4 years? It's all confusing for me right now.

So I guess what this whole self-doubt and insecurity thing boils down to is: what can I do? Will I be able to find something that I will at least like doing? What do you all think (all three of you that read this)?

Spending time looking for jobs and worrying about my future has led me to procrastinate horribly with this children's book I'm supposed to be writing. Ah, the paradox of schoolwork and job hunting.

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About Me

I'm a graduate of Ithaca College, where I studied English (and various other things), and a graduate of Simmons College, where I earned my library science master's degree. I'm now a teen librarian in a semi-rural area about 40 minutes outside of Boston. I'm also a huge dork.